As an English teacher, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to many countries all over the world. I’ve seen people celebrate everything from the arrival of new babies to the delivery of new cars. I’ve attended weddings, parties and religious celebrations in countries such as Argentina and Japan, and I’ve noticed that gold---the metal or the colour of it---is always part of cultural events, traditions and celebrations. It makes me wonder: Why do people love gold? For some people, gold seems to be a status(地位)symbol. Indian businessman Datta Phuge loves gold so much that he even bought a shirt made of gold at a cost of $250,000. I’m not sure I’d spend so much money on a shirt, would you? But Datta Phuge has his reason .He explains,“ Some people want to own an Audi or a Mercedes. I choose gold.” For other people, gold is an investment(投资). The price of gold generally increases over time and in European markets, it reached even $1,500 per ounce in 2011. And for many people, a family heirloom（传家宝）brings together status and investment. My mother has a gold bracelet（手镯）that was given to her by her grandmother who, in turn, inherited it from her own grandmother. It’s quite a heavy piece and probably worth quite a lot of money. But its mental value is greater than its value in dollars. It’s a beautiful object that holds many family memories. When the time comes, my mum will give the bracelet to me, and one day, I’ll pass it on to the younger generation. Therefore, status and investment are good reasons to value gold. However, I think that the real reason why people love gold is that it can be made into beautiful objects. Think about Tutankhamen’s death mask. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? People love gold because it holds their minds, their imaginations and, above all, their hearts. 小题1:The main idea of the first paragraph is that______.
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